Social Media: Political Adverts
Two major tech companies, Google and Twitter, have overhauled their political ads policies and severely limited campaigns’ ability to target voters — and Facebook is under mounting pressure to do the same.
Scott Spencer, VP Google Ads, Nov 20, 2019 “We’re proud that people around the world use Google to find relevant information about elections and that candidates use Google and search ads to raise small-dollar donations that help fund their campaigns. We’re also committed to a wide range of efforts to help protect campaigns, surface authoritative election news, and protect elections from foreign interference.”
Microtargeting is a powerful advertising tool that allows politicians such as President Donald Trump to aim ads at specific groups of people, or even individuals, online. The advertising tech has become increasingly controversial, with critics saying it permits politicians to target very narrow groups of voters with tailored messages that have the potential to manipulate the political debate.